Unexpected Fate
by Sarah Cabbage Patch
Summary: Raven's 18th birthday is coming up and something is going on inside of her, but will she be okay with the changes? Sucky summary I know, so just read it
1. Chapter One

Teen Titans: Unexpected Fate

Chapter One

Disclaimer: Yes of course I own the Teen Titans. My name is **D**arlene **C**hristine **Comics** and I live in the Cartoon Network neighborhood along with my alter ego Glen Murakami... Idiots... Please tell me you aren't listening to this crap...Oh boy...

A/N; Technically this can be seen as a semi-Valentine's Day fic, and you'll see why by the end of the story I'm sure.

* * *

The team trudged back into the Tower, all of them utterly exhausted by the major battle they had just encountered. Starfire merely floated up to her room, Beast Boy in her arms in his cat form, already fast asleep. Cyborg flopped down onto the ground, whipping an electrical cord out from God knows where and plugging himself into the wall socket; his eyelids fluttered shut and his system shut itself down as he recharged himself, all of this taking less than three minutes.

This left only Raven and Robin alone in the living room. Raven was so tired and all she wanted to do was go to bed like everyone else, but she had something nagging in the back of her mind and she needed to stay up and think about it just to get it out of her system.

She flopped down onto the large couch and just laid there as Robin came in after her and plopped himself on the armchair next to her head, his legs askew over the side and his head lolling around like a rag doll.

"What. A. Night."

Raven just nodded her head once and regretted it instantly as immense pain shot through her neck and down her spine.

"Tell me about it."

Raven thought for a moment that Robin had fallen asleep when it had been almost ten minutes of silence and she was about to go back to her previous thoughts when his voice startled her.

"I mean... Cinderblock, Plasmus, Killer Moth, Fang, Dr. Chang, Overload, _and _Johnny Rancid all in _one _night. Come _on!"_

"It's like they all got together and decided to have a free for all on Jump City. I think they should designate a certain day of the week for each of them to rampage through town... like Fang-filled Fridays or Killer Moth Mondays..."

Raven heard the chair creak as Robin willed his weak body to sit up and he stared at her, one eyebrow raised behind his mask, his mouth hanging open. It took Raven a few seconds to register that she was being stared at and when she finally realized it, she slowly turned around to meet her leader's confused glare.

"What? Why are you staring at me?"

"Did you really just say that? I mean, did you, _Raven_, the _only truly _level-headed Titan, just say that the villains need to have sign up days to attack the city?"

"Did I?"

"Uh...yeah..."

"Oh. ...My bad."

"Yeah, it was kinda scary... are you feeling all right there Rae? You don't normally say things that, well, that Beast Boy would normally say. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, everything is going o— well, I mean, I guess I am kinda of distracted right now."

"Oh really? Something on your mind?"

"Yeah I guess you could say that. That's the only reason I'm not completely passed out right now like everyone else. I won't be able to get some much needed rest until I figure this problem out. My mind just won't let me leave it alone."

"Well, do you wanna talk about it? I mean, I really don't think I could sleep at the moment even though I want to very bad."

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't need to put my pointless meanderings on you."

"Hey I don't mind. I don't have anything else to do. And I would feel better if you would tell me. I hate to think something is bothering one of my good friends."

Raven pondered this for a moment and was actually starting to consider his offer.

"No, no I don't think so. I'll be fine figuring this out on my own. I wouldn't want to put you out in any way either. I would feel bad if I made you listen to my trivial matters and then did nothing for you in return."

Silence reigned king from Robin's chair and Raven thought he had finally dozed off. She was about to settle back in with her thoughts when a _very close _voice resounded in her ears. Robin had moved behind her head and had placed his mouth directly next to her ear and she was practically shuddering from his warm breath on her face and neck.

"Well how about we make a deal Raven."

"A deal? What do you have in mind?"

"Well, first off, you're going to tell me what's bothering you..."

"Ok then, and what about you?"

"Me? Well, I'm kinda getting a little sore from sitting in this chair over here..."

"So what? You want me to give up this comfy couch? I don't think so; I'd rather figure out my own problems, no offense."

"No, of course not. I wouldn't ask you to move off of the couch. That's not right."

"Well then, what are getting at then?"

"Well...umm...don't get the wrong impression or anything...but I was kinda hoping that...well... maybe you wouldn't mind...sharing... the couch with me...?"

Raven simply turned around and faced the Boy Wonder, making their faces so close together that Raven could have licked his lips if she wanted to. She closed her eyes and shook the random thought from her head, not really understanding where or how or even _why _that image came into her mind. Robin watched with a strange curiosity as Raven closed her eyes and seemed to berate herself for something; he, of course, noticed their close proximity and he wanted nothing more to do something about it.

"Y-y-you want to share the couch... with me?"

"Well, yeah. I mean, I'll let you lay on top if you want to... Sorry that sounded kind of dirty. Listen, I promise I won't try and pull a fast one or anything. I honestly just want to help you with your problems, but I kind of can't do that if I'm cramped up in this stupid armchair."

Raven sat there and pondered Robin's proposition as she stared into the white's of his eye mask. She really had a rule against being that close to people but, for some strange reason, she was willing to make an exception for the smiling boy in front of her. She didn't know why she was thinking about letting her walls down, especially to the boy whom she knew the least about. While she was contemplating his offer, more images of kissing the young man in front of her rose in her mind and she looked away and involuntarily blushed at the risky thoughts. Raven masked her embarrassment and abruptly sat up, her back to the now confused boy.

"Raven? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good. But I'm not going to sit here all day and wait for you to get your lazy, tired ass over here..."

Robin's face broke out in a huge smile and he hopped off of his chair and onto the couch, bouncing Raven slightly as he sat down, facing her back and proceeding to put his legs on either side of her.

"WHOA! Just what the Hell do you think you're trying to do here? I thought you said no funny business!"

"Relax Rae. I'm just trying to make this more comfortable for the both of us. I'm just putting you in between me so when I lay back, you'll be on top and we'll both be more comfortable."

Raven scowled at his light laughter but she relented and practically melted into his strong embrace as he pulled her against his well-toned chest and leaned back, his arms mere centimeters away from her own breasts. Raven was glad he was behind her, because she would never live it down if he could have seen the major blushing she had going on right now. It only took a few minutes to get settled and Raven even used her powers to bring over a blanket, which she draped across them. She listened to his hypnotic heartbeat as she rested her head on his chest, content in that moment to stay like that forever.

"All right now, you ready to finally tell me what's going on in that mysterious mind of yours?"

Raven mumbled her agreement as she inhaled his musky scent and, for a moment, she didn't want to talk as much as she wanted to do something more active to the boy beneath her. She simply laid there, her body rising and falling with his and she forgot for a moment that she was supposed to have answered him some time ago.

"Rae? Hey Raven? Are you still awake? Earth to Raven..."

"Oh sorry. I kinda dozed off for a second."

"That's okay. Well, anytime you're ready, I'll be here when you start talking."

Raven blushed at her weak moment and unconsciously snuggled deeper into Robin's embrace, to which he grinned and tightened his grip on her waist, reveling in the intoxicating scent of her lavender hair and the perfect firmness of her waist. Raven waited a few more minutes before beginning to spill her issues.

"You see, it's... my powers..."

"Your powers? Hmm, that could definitely be an issue. What's going on with them?"

"I'm still not exactly sure." A sigh. "All I know is that, well, it's almost as if, maybe, I'm starting to lose control over them. And it kinda scares me..."

His grip tightened on her even more and, for once in her tragic life, Raven actually felt safe from harm.

"First off, you know that I'm always here for you Rae, we all are. Secondly, I don't know if this will help or anything, but I haven't noticed you slipping in your control lately. You seemed fine in battle and you seem absolutely _perfect _right now."

"Thanks. I know that you're all here for me if I need you. Although, I wouldn't expect you to notice, at least not in the way that I am, that my powers are slipping. I only noticed it this week, and then again rather obviously today in battle. Again, it's not anything big either, but it's enough for me to sense something is wrong. First off, my powers were 'blipping' a bit earlier and I really had to focus to use them. Also, my premonitions are really going haywire, but they aren't always visions as much as just snatches of very, _very _vivid dreams..."

"Hmm. Dreams? What kind of dreams?"

"I'm not really sure. I mean, I know that I'm in them along with someone else, but it's all so blurry that I can't make out any faces or what we're doing or anything. It really is just frustrating to know that something is going on, but you just don't know what or even _why _it's happening!"

"Well, is there anyone you can talk to or contact who would know if something is going on? I mean, I'd like to think we know quite a bit about you Raven, but if this is something dealing with your powers, chances are it could be something with your...erm...heritage and your background."

"Hmm, you might be on to something there Robin. Maybe I could go and see Azar tomorrow and talk to her. Do you think the team can handle things without me for a few hours or so while I travel back to Azareth and find out if they know what's wrong with me?"

"Yeah I think we'll be okay without you for a bit. I would rather lose you for a few hours than to find out that by not taking action, I could lose you for a lot longer than that."

Raven smiled, glad that she had such a good friend in Robin who cared about her like he did. Suddenly a wave of exhaustion overcame the dark girl and she yawned loudly. Robin just chuckled at the cute little noises she made and shifted a bit to make her more comfortable.

"I think maybe it's time for us to get to bed. Your mind seems to think it might be okay now for you ro get some rest."

"Yeah, I think so." Yawns. "Goodnight Robin. Thanks for listening to me."

"Anytime, anytime. Goodnight Raven."

The two birds fell into a deep sleep quickly as their dreams took control and gave them quite a bit to think about when it came time for them to wake up.

* * *

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Raven sat up and stretched her arms above her head, feeling her joints loosen up a bit as she turned around to face the sunlight streaming in through the open window. She got up from the couch, noticing that Robin was already gone and she looked over to see that even Cyborg was no longer lying on the floor, recharging.

_Hmm, I thought that would have taken him longer to restore after that battle. Guess he wasn't as bad off as he originally thought he was. Oh well. I wonder where Robin is? More than that, how on Earth did he manage to get up this morning without moving me? I'm usually a light sleeper..._

She heard a small noise behind her and she turned around to see the door to the living room whoosh open as the subject in question ambled through the door, looking overly happy without a care in the world. He smiled at her and made his way into the kitchen to start preparing breakfast. Raven mumbled a 'Good Morning' to him as she walked over to the kitchen counter to make a cup of tea. He answered her and went back to his cooking as her water boiled and she grabbed a mug down from the cabinet.

"Hey, how did you manage to get up this morning without moving me? Normally I wouldn't sleep through something like that."

"You're forgetting who I trained with." He smirked at her and continued his cooking. "I was taught at a very early age how to be sneaky and stealthy, so on and so forth. How was your sleep? Do you feel better this morning?"

"Yeah, actually I feel a lot better. Thanks."

He smiled at her and they gave their greetings as the rest of the Titans filed into the kitchen, awoken by the smells of whatever Robin was cooking, something Raven couldn't quite pinpoint. She declined the offer for food and went back to sit down on the couch with her tea to read. She grabbed a book that was on the coffee table, but the words seemed rather blurry still so she chalked it up to her being tired and so she just sat there, watching the sunshine and water outside.

She was jerked out of her peaceful reverie as she realized there was no longer any noise coming from the kitchen and the Tower was eerily quiet. She was about to turn around when she felt someone's presence behind her; she gasped as a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist and a face was buried in her neck. Normally Raven would have blasted whoever it was to kingdom come, but for some odd reason, she just relaxed into this person and felt calm.

"Where did everyone go? I don't hear them anymore."

"They were done with breakfast so they went out somewhere. We have the whole Tower to ourselves now."

Raven's eyes flew open as she tried to figure out who was talking to her, but the voice seemed so close and yet so far away that she couldn't pinpoint it, almost like someone had a mechanical device in front of their mouth. She tried to turn around but found she could no longer move. She looked down and could barely make out the arms around her waist; the green, rather fuzzy looking arms that encircled her waist and were slowly making their way up underneath her shirt.

_Shirt? Since when did I ever change into my pajamas? And why am I-o-ohowoweowo..._

Her thoughts were cut off as her mystery man began to kiss her neck and caress her stomach. She seemed to lose all control of her limbs as her hands suddenly had a mind of their own and reached up behind her to run her fingers through his hair. He whipped her around and, before she had the chance to look at his face, kissed her so deeply he took her breath away and Raven lost all sense of decency.

Her hands flew to his buttons and his shirt was off in seconds, her hands roaming over his chest, which she could feel, but not see. His mouth was still hungrily devouring her and his hands were now separated, one was currently inside her shorts, massaging her butt, while the other was rubbing her breast, eliciting a moan from deep within her throat. Her skin was on fire and she wanted nothing more than to take this man right here and right now, even though she still had no clue who was making her feel so...fevered!

She didn't know how she got there, but suddenly she was on her back on the couch and her eyes were still closed in ecstasy as he kissed his way down her bare stomach and ending at her shorts-line.

"Take me! Please, just take me now!"

Raven shouted as she could feel her clothes being removed and the friction between their bodies was unbearable. Her lover was moving closer to her face and she could almost make out some distinct features when she felt the couch start moving; at first she thought it was her, but then she realized she was sitting still and everything around her was moving. She cried out as her body felt as though it were covered in ice and she freaked out, throwing herself into a sitting position.

* * *

Raven flew up in the couch and lightly screamed as her eyes opened and all she saw was black. Her emotions and composure were gone for the moment, but she quickly pulled herself in as she realized the blackness surrounding her was her own dark magic. It took her a few minutes, but she calmed herself down and looked around her, noticing she was really alone and that she was still in her uniform. There was no breakfast in the kitchen, no mug of tea on the table, no naked man on top of her.

"Woah. What a dream! That one was even worse than the last one... but who is he? Who in the world could make me feel that way? Moreover, how _could** I** _feel that way?"

Her face was flushed and her clothes and hair were rather damp and she felt slightly foolish that she had gotten so hot and bothered over a dream. She calmed herself down and took a hair tie off of her wrist and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail in hopes of getting rid of her heated look. She had complained to Starfire quite a few years ago when they had switched bodies that she hated long hair, but once she had gotten older, around sixteen or so, she had relented and let her hair grow long in an attempt to look a little older.

When she was cooled off enough she glanced over at the calendar on the wall and noted the late date in January and shuddered. Her birthday, her eighteenth birthday to be exact, was just around the corner and she hated to think that this year the Titans would try another big party. When they had found out what date her birthday fell on, Beast Boy had laughed and Starfire was so excited that she asked if she would be willing to trade it with her.

Raven pushed all thoughts of her birthday out of her mind and stood up to look outside at the morning sun. She started to make plans for her visit with Azar and she was so immersed that she was a little startled as she heard a whoosh and in walked Robin, clad in his black sweat pants and a white wife beater.

"Good Morning Robin."

Robin opened up the fridge and took out an armload of food and started making breakfast for everyone. Raven was already up by the counter, getting her morning tea ready by the time he actually answered her.

"Morning Rae!"

Raven eyed the overly enthusiastic boy and waited for her water to boil.

"Say, Robin, how did you get up this morning without waking me up? I'm usually a light sleeper."

He simply smirked and went back to cooking his famous eggs and waffles, practically making Raven drool as her nose was bombarded with the smell of his incredible cooking.

"You're forgetting who I trained with. I was taught at a very early age how to be sneaky and stealthy, so on and so forth. How was your sleep? Do you feel better this morning?"

Raven spun around and stared at his back, her mouth agape.

"What did you just say?"

Robin turned around and eyed her strangely.

"I just said that you forget that I trained with Batman. Then I asked if you slept well last night, if everything was better?"

"Oh. Yeah, everything is just...peachy."

Raven calmed her breathing down as she turned her attention back to her water and poured herself a cup of tea and went to sit down at the table for a moment. She grabbed her book that was sitting there and kept it close so she could read it later. The other Titans came into the kitchen moments later to eat and Raven politely declined their invitation, saying she wasn't all that hungry this morning.

"Oh come on Raven, Rob here is the best cook in the world, besides me that is."

"Sorry Cyborg. Not that I don't doubt Robin's superb cooking abilities, or your's for that matter, but I really am just not hungry. I have a lot on my mind this morning."

Beast Boy watched as Raven began to walk over to the couch and he couldn't resist having a little fun with the resident Empath this morning. He slinked over behind her, put his mouth right next to her face and waited for her to notice him, which she didn't, so he decided to take matters into his own hands.

"Hey Raven, how about youse and me get everyone out of here and we'll have to Tower all to ourselves today. _I'll_ help take things off of your mind."

Raven's eyes widened as she jumped off of the couch and nearly screamed as Beast Boy fell on his back, laughing, rolling around on the floor while Raven tried to control her flaring emotions as well as her powers. Of course Beast Boy just figured he had gotten the best of her, but the second he had spoken those words, Raven's mind immediately returned to her dream from last night and she couldn't take it. The thought of Beast Boy being the one who made her feel that way was almost nauseating and she panicked.

Raven spun around, composed herself, grabbed her book and rushed out of the room. She muttered an explanation quickly as the door was shutting, telling the rest of the team that she was going to take a shower and then she was leaving for Azareth _immediately_. She made it to her room without anyone following her and she slid down her door as soon as it had shut, her mind reeling with everything that had been happening lately.

"That's it. I need to hurry up and see Azar. I need to know what the Hell is going on with me, _now_."

* * *

A/N: Well, whatcha think so far? This here is my new little ficcy, Number One from the list I let you pick from. I guess I wasn't that surprised that a lot of people picked that one, it had the most votes, so I decided I would get a head start on it. Just hit that little button on the bottom over there and let me know what you think!

Next Chapter: Raven speaks with Azar and finds out why everything is going screwy in her world right now. But will she like what Azar has to say? Something else will prolly happen too, but I haven't written it yet, so who knows!


	2. Chapter Two

Teen Titans: Unexpected Fate

Chapter Two

* * *

Raven took a few moments to collect herself before she got into the shower, bringing her radio in the bathroom as well so she could drown out any thoughts that kept creeping into her brain from this morning. Anytime something got close enough she physically shook her head and began singing rather loudly to clear her mind. She quickly got out of the shower, dried off, and got into a fresh, new uniform, the entire time making her mind think of what she had to do and not what had already transpired this morning. She finished getting ready and hurriedly scrawled a note for the other Titans and taped it to her door, letting them know she would be back later in the evening and not to worry even if she wasn't.

"Looks good." Pauses. "Guess I can leave now and go talk to Azar. Hopefully she will know what is wrong with me."

She folded her legs underneath her as she sat hovering above her bed and started repeating her mantra, her eyes closed as she pictured her old home, her home where she happened to never feel as welcome as she did at the Tower. She took a deep breath as she gathered up all the energy she could and transformed into her shadow-form, flying almost as fast as Starfire through the inter-dimensions and towards Azareth.

She could feel a slight shifting as she soared through the dimensional plains but she was used to it and merely felt content, as though she were only in a delightful, fancy-free flight. A few minutes later she felt her mind reach the outer limits of her old home, so she opened up her eyes as she looked down and saw the blur of the devastated terrain below her. A pang stung her heart for the destroyed planet, for the people she knew were always in risk because of the demons, because of _her_.

She quickly pushed the awful thoughts away and slowly made her way down to the ground, phasing out of her shadow form and landing softly on the ground in front of Azar's temple. A few passerbys looked at her strangely before shrugging their shoulders and continuing on, forgetting the young woman almost instantly. Raven ignored them and went up to the doors, knocking forcefully and then stepping back as two guards appeared before her, the only Azarethians allowed to carry weapons.

"I'm here to see Azar. It's important."

The guards looked down upon her, giving her the feeling they would sneer if they weren't in such close proximity to their peaceful leader's abode.

"And who are you to demand such an inquisition? Mere subjects surely cannot just barge in upon her Highness for no reason at all."

Raven sighed and rolled her eyes at their gruffness.

"Well you can just tell her 'Highness' that Raven is here to see her and that her incompetent lackeys are really starting to piss her off, so she might want to hurry."

The guards' nostrils flared at her arrogant words but they glared at her and stuck their nose in the air.

"Wait right here, _peasant_."

They walked back into the temple, leaving Raven alone outside, feeling somewhat perturbed by their ignorant attitudes and their apparent dislike of her. She luckily didn't have too much time to ruminate about how to torture them as the doors flew open almost instantly and the guards appeared terrified a little as they moved aside to let her in. Raven huffed at them, seeing their obvious terror and smiling to herself; Azar had undoubtedly reamed them for giving her such a rude welcoming. She knew her way around the ancient temple and set her course straight for Azar's temple throne. She came to the doors, stopping only to take a deep breath, before she opened the doors and walked inside.

"Welcome my Child. It truly has been quite some time."

Raven bowed before the High Priestess and smiled warmly at the old woman.

"Thank you Azar. Yes, it has been quite a long time. I apologize for not contacting you in the last few months."

"Oh you do not have to be sorry for that." She came down from her throne and lifted Raven's chin up with her finger. "I know that you are busy with your new house mates."

Raven stood up and followed her over to an area of soft, velvet pillows and they sat down across from each other, relaxing in the calm atmosphere. Raven took the time to look her old friend over, marveling at how nice Time seemed to have been to her. Her long, pure white hair was tightly coiled into a braided bun atop her head, exposing her slender, graceful neck and parts of her pushed back shoulders. Her light yellow robes complimented her pale skin and brought out the flecks of blue in her forest green eyes. Raven suddenly felt physically self-conscious of her slim, but short legs, her unusually large bosom, her stick-like arms and her still wet odd-colored hair cascading down her back.

"So, my dear. What brings you back here to see me? It must be important if you thought to practically dismiss my guards as imbeciles."

Raven smiled a little at the old woman's gleaming eyes and nodded slowly, caught off guard by the sudden speech.

"Well, Azar, you see, I think something has been happening with my powers... I have had many visions lately, none of them are very clear, but they all make me feel... I don't know _what _they make me feel, but the fact that I _can _feel is what really scares me. I talked with my leader last night before we went to bed and even he seemed to think it would be a good idea to come and talk to you about it. He thought maybe it might have something to do with my... heritage."

Azar smirked and regarded the young woman babbling before her.

"You talked about your powers with your leader? Well, you must really trust this young man very much. You were never one to share your secrets and feelings with anyone, let alone a boy. What is his name again? Robert?"

"_Robin_. And yes, I trust him with my life. I feel like I can tell him anything and he'll listen, and I mean really listen. I've never felt this way with anyone before... I trust all of them very much."

Azar's smile brightened even more as she delved deeper into Raven's words and thought about what was underneath the actual spoken words.

"Ah, yes, it was Robin, that's right." Pauses. "I am happy for you, my little one. You deserve such wonderful friends who really are more like, if I can daresay, your own family."

Raven thought about it for a minute and then looked back to her.

"Yes, they are like my family aren't they? I would do anything for them and I know they would help me in any way they possibly could... It feels good to finally feel cared about."

"Yes, I am sure it probably is. But, moving back to your question at hand: You said your powers seem to be slipping and that you are getting visions? What, if I may ask, are these visions? Are they apocalyptic? Of the future? Of your friends?"

Raven shook her head and blushed intensely, feeling awkward to be telling Azar of something so personal and so _vulgar_, in a way. She fidgeted for a moment before sighing deeply and shaking her head yet again.

"Yes, I have to focus really hard on my powers when I use them and it takes much energy out of me." Gulps. "As for my visions... they are not apocalyptic, or of the future, or of my friends. They really are not that bad at all."

Azar studied the young woman's internal struggle as she weighed her words.

"What do you mean then? Of what are your visions if they are not bad?"

"T-they aren't really even premonitions, I think. At least, I hope not. You see, Azar, my visions usually involve me and someone else... I don't know who he is, but I do know it is a man. But I can never see his face and his voice doesn't even sound familiar since it is always garbled. As for what is happening in those visions..." Blushes intensely. "Well, they are not exactly situations of good caliber. I mean, they are rather awkward to talk about, as much as they make me feel good, but they are always involving a...er,...less than casual setting."

Raven stumbled over her words as Azar tried to piece together her cryptic sentences. Obviously this was something embarrassing for her since she kept blushing and fumbling with her thoughts.

"Child, as strange as this might be for you, please do not feel apprehensive in telling me something, no matter how personal it may seem. I am only here to help you, something which I cannot do if you do not outwardly tell me what is going on."

Raven closed her eyes and sighed deeply, pinching the bridge of her nose before opening her eyes again and looking at her mentor.

"I am sorry Azar, it's just...embarrassing on my behalf really. But I suppose you are right; I cannot truly receive your help if I am not forward with my words." Deep breath followed by a heavy sigh. "You see, in my dreams, the man and I are always engaged in... activities of a..._sexual_..nature."

Azar blanched a little as she heard her protege's words, but she quickly calmed down and carefully thought her own words out.

"A sexual nature you say? So, the dreams are carnal in content?"

Raven blushed even more and she could sense her old leader's weary tone, knowing full well Azar was uncomfortable with the topic.

"Yes, they are, very much so. I find the scents and touches are heightened and when I awake, I often find myself sweating and in a near state of arousal. I have never been one to succumb to such pointless feelings, but I feel as though I have no choice in the matter. Also, I can feel myself having feelings of, dare I say it, **_love _**towards this individual... Am I completely wrong in thinking these explicit dreams are somehow affecting my powers?"

Azar was silent for a few minutes as she pondered the situation. At first she knew not what to make of the connection, but as she slowly pieced the events together, she quickly came to a decision, apprehension dawning on her face as she turned back towards the confused young girl.

"Raven, what is the date back on Earth? I have not checked my Earthen calendars in such a long time..."

Raven quirked an eyebrow, but said nothing at the strange question. She could tell by her tone that Azar might have an idea on how to solve her problems.

"Erm, it's almost the end of January, I think this morning I saw that it was the 22nd or so. Why? What does the date have to do with anything?"

"Well, my child, your birthday is coming up is it not? And is this year not a special year, at least on Earth?"

Raven blushed a bit at the mention of the despised day of her birth and scowled.

"Unfortunately, yes. In about two weeks it will be my eighteenth birthday. But I don't see why that's important."

Azar stood and offered her hand to the sitting girl; Raven took it hesitantly and stood beside her, following confusedly as Azar led her back to the entrance of her temple.

"You see, Raven, when a demon child reaches their peak of adolescence, a rather large change occurs. For complete demons, it happens when they grow their wings which symbolizes their entrance into adulthood. But since you are a half-breed, you will not get the changes that demons get and so your body must deal with what it has. So, that in turn means that it waits for a significant turning point in your adulthood, which in the case of humans, is their eighteenth birthday, more or less."

"Ok, so my body is responding to my being an adult? So, this is going to pass right? I mean, I don't really understand what all the visions are about, but still..."

Azar chuckled and stopped to look at her just before the door.

"Well, you see when a demon child reaches adulthood, then they are to choose their mate for life. They, in a matter of speaking, go into a mating frenzy to find their eternal demon partner."

Raven's eyes widened and she seemed to grow even more pale than she normally was.

"S-so what you're saying is that, I'm practically going to be in heat for the next two weeks! And that this person I'm dreaming of might be my s-s-soul mate?"

Azar noticed the uneasy feeling in her voice and quickly tried to calm her down.

"Yes, well your body will want to mate, like any normal demon's, but usually it only works with other demons. So the chance that the man in your visions is your eternal partner is very slim. But, if I may say so, my dear, with your emotions going haywire, it means that your powers will be more under your control than ever before. If it is not so bold of me to suggest, then I would say you should think of confronting your father and taking back your life in the next two weeks."

"Defeat my father? Have the chance to finally be _free_? As tempting at that sounds Azar, I don't know if I'm strong enough yet for that."

Azar placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a small hug, comforting the young woman as much as she could.

"Raven, you have _always _been strong enough for that. You should never doubt in yourself like that. You _deserve _to be free and truly happy for once in your life. Besides... it would keep you from thinking constantly about the visions you've been having..."

Raven returned the hug and smiled sadly at the old woman.

"Maybe you're right. It's about time that I took control of my life and stopped living in fear of my father for once. Thank you Azar. I knew you would help me greatly. I truly appreciate it."

"You are welcome. Raven, I have always looked upon you as one of my own. I have raised you practically from birth and I only long for your happiness. I hope that you find it soon. It would do my heart a great deal to see you content and, maybe, even someday in love with a family of your own."

"Someday..."

Raven's smile grew as Azar opened the door and they said their goodbyes, Azar still wishing her luck in whatever path she chose as she smirked at the guards upon leaving. Raven walked slowly, breathing in deeply the sweet, unscathed air of Azareth as she walked down the path, not really wanting to leave for back home just yet. She felt as if a terrible weight was just lifted off her shoulders as she was happy that the visions were merely nothing but raging hormones.

She was relieved that her dreams were merely byproducts of her uncontrolled emotions and she put aside the minor fact that her latest one had actually been more of a premonition than anything. She lazily strolled around the dilapidated landscape of Azareth and fondly remembered what it used to look like before Trigon's army had effectively destroyed the tranquil beauty that had inhabited her former home. After an untold amount of time, Raven finally decided it was time to get back home and to her friends.

She found a quiet place near the dying lake and began meditating a bit before finally using her powers to fly through the dimensions and back to Earth. She appeared in a shadowy wisp of black magic, hovering a few feet above her bed in the Tower and slowly floated down, sitting there for a moment to collect her bearings. She shifted a little to look at her clock, beaming an ominous red in the dark room, casting an eerie glow to her night stand beside her bed.

_Hmph, it's only a little after ten,_ she thought to herself, stretching her legs out and sliding off of her bed._ The other Titans are probably already in bed. Maybe I should go and get a cup of tea before bed; I need to calm my nerves somewhat before I fall asleep._

She walked quietly to her door and out into the darkened hallway, making her way down the long corridors. She made it to the kitchen rather quickly, entering quietly through the dark room and towards the kitchen and the small light someone left on above the stove. As she got closer to her tea kettle, she frowned as something didn't seem right.

She walked a little faster and when she got there, she would have sweat-dropped at the obviousness of what was different. Her kettle was already full and boiling with a mug set out next to it and a soothing, herbal tea bag lying next to it. She smiled softly at the apparently well-thought out gesture as she looked over and saw a stirring spoon with a small packet of cream lying atop a plain white envelope with her name scrawled on it.

Her brows furrowed together as she picked the envelope up and opened it, her gaze softening as she read the letter:

_Raven, _

_I hope everything went well with your visit to Azareth this morning. I also hope that Azar was able to give you some much-needed answers as well. I figured you wouldn't be back until later tonight and you could probably use some tea to help you relax. See you in the morning. Get some rest; I mean it! Good night,_

_Robin_

Her small smile still on her face, she set the letter off to the side as she poured her water, closing her eyes as the smell of her newly made tea relaxed her to the core, making her forget all her problems for just a second. She added her cream, which she didn't even know Robin knew about, and stirred it up, cleaning her mess in the process with her powers and taking both her tea and Robin's letter back to her room.

Her eyes glanced over at his door as she passed and her smile grew only slightly as she took a sip of her tea, blowing off the urge to stop and knock on his door to thank him. She settled on telling him in the morning as she finally made it to her room and used her powers to light some candles instead of turning on the harsh main lights. She set her tea down and changed into her pajamas, thinking all the while of what lay ahead of her.

The prospect of, for once on her life, being able to feel unrestrained sent a light-hearted feeling through her and she had to recall her emotions as some of her books rattled quietly on her shelf.

_At least the whole bookcase didn't explode like it normally would. Maybe Azar was right; my powers are a little more under my control now. Which means that I **could **defeat my father if I wanted to._

After changing and finishing off her tea while she got ready for bed, Raven decided she would begin training hard by herself for the intense battle that loomed ahead of her; starting tomorrow morning, she would meditate as much as possible and when she wasn't meditating, she would be in the training room so she could gain the upper hand against her father. The tea began to take its effect on her and she became suddenly drowsy as her thoughts started to become jumbled. She used her powers to put the candles out and crawled under her dark, silk sheets, smiling the entire time as she fell into a deep and dreamless sleep.

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The next morning Raven woke up completely rested and even a little happy that she didn't have any more of those 'dreams'. She got up and looked at the clock, frowning at the somewhat late hour. She got out of bed, grumbling a little bit as she grabbed a new uniform and headed into her bathroom to take a shower. She was out relatively quick, with her hair dried and her shoes and cape on in a matter of minutes as she calmly walked out the door, mentally planning her day out in her head.

She walked into the living room to see no one but shrugged it off as she headed towards the kitchen. As she got closer she saw the fridge doors open but couldn't see who was behind them. Finally the doors closed as she walked to the cabinet and pulled a mug out; Robin turned around, hearing someone behind him and smiled at her.

"Hey Raven, I kinda figured you were back already after everything was cleaned up last night, but I was starting to worry when you weren't in here by 7 like usual."

"Yeah, sorry about that, I guess I was just too tired from traveling through dimensions yesterday."

"Well don't be sorry. I'm glad you finally got some sleep, it seems like you're always up way before you should be."

Raven just smiled and chuckled quietly to herself as she went back to making her tea and Robin came to stand next to her. She looked up at him out of the corner of her eye, still smiling and watching him as he just stood there next to her, a soft smile on his face as well.

"Um, can I help you with something Robin? Did I forget to thank you for the tea last night? Because, then Thank you very much. It was greatly appreciated."

Robin just chuckled and shook his head.

"Well you're welcome for the tea. But that wasn't the reason I came over here."

Raven just cocked her head to the side, leaving the counter and going to sit at the kitchen table. She sat down, sipping her tea, having a staring contest with her leader as he leaned against the counter.

"Okay, I give. What was the reason then?"

"Well, I was just waiting for your order."

"My order?" Pauses, "What order? What are you talking about?"

"What do you want for breakfast? I mean, you can't just live on tea alone. You need some real food sooner or later. So, what will it be?"

Raven shook her head in response and frowned.

"No Robin, I couldn't do that. I'm fine, really. I'll just get something later on in the day. I don't want you to go out of your way to make me some measly breakfast."

"Fine then, seeing as how it's almost noon, what would you like for lunch?"

Raven sighed and glared at him, her look quickly becoming playful as he continued to smile at her.

"_Nothing_. I'll make something later. Tea is just fine for now. Really, Robin, I don't need anything."

Robin just moved toward the fridge, opening the door and scouring the shelves. Raven just watched him as he came out a few minutes later with his arms full of food.

"Grilled chicken salad it is, then."

He smiled smugly and went to the counter and proceeded to cut up pieces of leftover chicken to throw in a pan. Raven just sighed and rolled her eyes.

"Robin, I thought I sai— "

"Uh-uh, Raven. You _need _to eat. You haven't eaten anything since the day before yesterday and I won't have you fighting me anymore. You're going to eat now and that's an order."

Raven scowled at the serious tone his voice held but she refuted nothing, merely grumbling to herself as she fiddled with her tea, a smirk on Robin's face that she couldn't see.

"Well, if you're going to force me to eat, then can you at least let me help you cook something?"

"Sure, you know what, why don't you cut up some vegetables for the salad while I cook the chicken, sound good?"

Raven nodded and got up, leaving her unfinished tea on the table and proceeded to cut up some vegetables while Robin got out a frying pan and began cooking the chicken. They worked in an easy silence and in less than 10 minutes they were back at the table enjoying their hard work. Halfway through her salad, Raven looked up at Robin to see him playing with his tomatoes and could practically taste his anxiety. She put down her fork and stared at him.

"Alright spill, Wonder Boy. What's wrong?"

He looked startled at her sudden words and clattered his fork on his plate, his eyes a little wider.

"Wrong? Nothing's wrong, why would you think that?"

"You're nervous about something, I can feel it. We have a bond, remember? And I'm an Empath. How could I _not_?"

"Oh, heh, right. Well it's nothing really.. I-I was just wondering h-how your visit to Azareth went... You know, I just wanted to know w-what Azar t-told you yesterday."

"That's it?"

"W-well, yeah..."

"Are you kidding me? Why didn't you just _ask_?"

Robin looked down, clearly embarrassed as Raven just quirked an eyebrow up at him.

"I-I didn't know if it was personal or anything. I didn't want to impose on you."

"Don't worry about it, Robin. She knew what was wrong with me, and it wasn't much really... It's just, that with my 18th birthday coming up... my emotions and powers are going to be under control as I get closer to adulthood. It's a demon thing I guess."

Robin visibly relaxed and Raven suddenly felt bad for not mentioning that she was going to be as horny as all hell in the next few weeks. She blushed slightly at the obscene thought but she forced it down as he smiled at her.

"So, that's it? Nothing too serious then?"

"No, not really anyway. But, I am going to have to ask for some time off; you might want to call in one of the alternates for the next two weeks or so."

"What? Why?"

Robin looked worried suddenly and Raven berated herself for making it seem like she was dying or something.

"I just meant that with my powers under control, Azar suggested that I try and confront my father and take my life back. I don't know how long it's going to take me to train or to defeat him. But I need to do it, and I'm going no matter what."

Robin frowned at this new information and was silent for a few minutes. Raven looked down and played with her salad, angry at herself for saying it so harshly. She was shaken from her reverie when he cleared his throat and started talking again.

"Raven, I know that you need to do this for yourself, but I would prefer if you let us help you fight against your father."

"No. I'm sorry Robin but that's out of the question. I don't want to risk getting any of you hurt or losing you. I need to go alone."

"Raven, I don't want to risk losing _you_."

Raven was startled at his serious and caring voice as he reached over and placed a hand on her shoulder. She thought she could feel something else in his tone, but she brushed it off with a wry smile.

"Don't worry, you won't. You're stuck with me for good, didn't you get the memo?"

She stood up, still smiling, finished with her lunch as she took it over to the sink. Robin just chuckled sadly and shook his head, his worry still laced in his words.

"I must have missed that one, I guess. Raven... are you sure you don't want any help? I would feel a lot better knowing that you had someone else to watch over you."

"Yeah I'm sure, I'll be fine, I promise. I have to do this by myself or I won't ever be able to be fully free from my past."

She turned her back to him as she placed her dish in the sink. She must have been really immersed in washing her dishes because she managed to not hear the chair scraping, or Robin getting up, or even him walking towards her. She jumped as he coughed to get her attention and spun around to face him, her heart beating wildly in her chest, and not just from the initial shock. Her eyes searched his mask for answers as he just stood there, mere inches from her face, just standing there as she could almost taste his gel in the air around them.

The entire kitchen seemed to vanish as they stood there, the air buzzing with an unknown electricity, the two birds just standing there with the water running behind them, not a care in the world besides that moment. Raven internally gasped as Robin began to come closer and her mind was a complete blank. She just stared at him and held her breath, not knowing what his intentions were. She almost died when his arms suddenly wrapped around her and his head was buried in her shoulder as he hugged her tightly to his chest. It took her a few moments to respond, putting her arms lightly on his back. It was a warm, friendly hug and Raven closed her eyes, letting out a loud sigh.

"R-Robin?"

"_Please _be careful, Raven. The last thing I need is to lose you, to lose such a beneficial part to this team, this _family_."

Raven's heart pinched in her chest, from what she didn't know, as he squeezed her one last time before pulling away, a shy smile on his face.

"Sorry about that. I know that you don't care much for hugs, or physical contact at all, but I just had to. I apologize."

"N-no, I-it's okay, really. It's nice to know y-you all care about me that much."

She managed a small smile for him, her heart thumping painfully in her chest from the intense moment. She still didn't understand the emotion coursing through her, but either way she didn't care too much for it and tried her hardest to quell it. He backed up and went to clean up his own dishes, nervously trying not to look at her too much in his moment of weakness.

"Well, I think I'm going to go and meditate for while. B-but I should be down again for dinner."

"Yeah, o-okay. That sounds good. I guess I-I'll just see you then."

Raven said goodbye and briskly walked back to her room, her heart pounding the entire time. She rushed into her room and immediately stomped over to her bed, flopping down and growling loudly.

"Stupid emotions! These two weeks are going to be harder than I thought. I think it'll just be better if I try and stay away from everyone, period. _Especially _the boys since it looks like these hormonal overload tendencies really aren't going to die down."

She sighed loudly and got back up, heading back out into the hallway and up the stairs to the roof. When she got outside, she could vaguely hear voices and so she looked over the side to see Starfire, Cyborg and BB all heading out across to the mainland, chattering away. She smiled at the carefree sight and moved back to 'her spot' on the roof and sat down, folding her legs and closing her eyes. She focused her thoughts on nothing but the quiet around her as she began her chant, slipping off into oblivion and beginning her meditation.

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Dinner went relatively well, neither Robin or Raven speaking of what was going to transpire in the next few weeks. Although, he kept sneaking glances at her, well she thought he did anyway because she could feel someone staring at her, but with that damn mask of his she could never really tell. The other Titans had no idea what was going on and Raven was thankful for that at least. She didn't want anyone else worried about her because in the long run it would only distract her from the task at hand.

After dinner, Raven agreed to watch a movie with them, but only at the pleading of Starfire and, in secret, Robin. She sat down with them, furthest away on the couch and thought about everything else while the movie was playing. She was still thinking when it was over and it wasn't until Robin cleared his throat that she snapped out of it and excused herself to her room. She cleared her mind before bed and was thankful for another night of dreamless sleep, for the next morning she was determined to get up early and start her training.

At exactly 6:30 in the morning, Raven was up, showered, and dressed comfortably in a pair of black track pants, a black sports bra, and a black tank top along with black tennis shoes. She headed down to the gym, her favorite cd in hand as she prepared herself for her training. When she entered the gym she set up the punching bag, the weights, everything she could think of; she wanted to be prepared for her battle for her destiny and she wanted to be ready for her father on every level.

She trained straight for two and a half hours while listening to a mix she made of her favorite songs which were, unbeknownst to anyone else in the tower, classic rock songs of the 70s and 80s. The soothing and yet, energizing, beats of Van Halen, AC/DC, Journey, and Bon Jovi, just to name a few, filled her senses as she fought hard, the sweat only making her feel accomplished as it pooled on her body. She finished training just before 9 and went up to her room to shower again, not trusting the locker rooms, smiling as she passed Robin's room and heard him getting up and getting ready to train himself.

After her wonderfully cold shower, she made a minor appearance in the kitchen, grabbing a mug of tea and some toast, at Robin's urging, and reading for a little under an hour before going up to the roof for almost four hours of meditation. She came down again around 3 in the afternoon and made another minor appearance, merely sitting and reading again before she began more training. She was about to head down to the training room again around 5, but she was stopped by Robin as she was leaving. He motioned for her to follow him into the hallway and she obliged, only a little perturbed at the minor setback.

"Hey, I noticed you started your training today..."

"Yeah, why wouldn't I have? I need all the practice I can get if I want to win."

Robin looked ashamed for a moment as he shuffled his feet and sighed deeply. Raven cringed at the hurt posture he assumed and felt bad for snapping.

"Listen, Robin, sorry for snapping, I didn't me— "

"No, it's okay, Raven, really. I understand... well, what I was getting at anyway, was that if you wanted any help, not like you're thinking, but if you wanted some pointers, then I would be more than willing to lend my services as a sparring partner."

Raven quirked up an eyebrow at his offer and was silent for a moment, trying not to laugh out loud at his strange terms. He mistook her silence though, for rejection and hung his head while starting to walk back into the living room.

"S-sorry Raven, I shouldn't have even said anything. I know you wanted to do this by yourself and it was a silly gesture anyway. I'll just be going now."

Raven shook her head, smiling warmly as she turned around to face his retreating back and placed her hands on her hips, scowling at him.

"Well fine then, go on back to the living room. It's not like I _wanted _to give you an answer anyway."

He whipped around and looked surprised, chuckling nervously as he saw her playful demeanor.

"Sorry again Raven, I just thought— "

"Yeah, well you thought wrong, Boy Blunder. When you assume, you make an Ass out of 'U' and Me."

She smirked at him and he laughed outright at her logic. When she looked back to him, she smiled warmly and nodded her head.

"It would be really great if you did want to help me, though. Then I could shove it in dear old Daddy's face that I trained with _The _Batman's protégé. He'd get a kick out of that for sure."

"Really? You _want _me to spar with you?"

"Sure, it can only do more good than harm. I'm going to need all the practice I can get."

Robin just grinned at her as she accepted his offer.

"Well good. Why don't you head down to the gym when you're ready then. I just have to go let the other Titans know where we'll be... Oh, erm, Rae?"

She whirled around from her walk back to her room, her stomach doing (ironically) belly-flops at the use of her nickname. She suppressed the growing blush and fidgeted with her cape to distract herself from her thoughts.

"Yeah?"

"Um, well I noticed you haven't told the others about your plans yet and I was just wondering..."

"Yes...?"

"Er, well, do you not want them to know or anything?"

Raven just stood there and stared at him for a second, decoding his words.

"In other words, if you were to tell them why we're training and why I'm going to be almost non-existent for the next two weeks or so, would I be mad?"

"Heh." Nervous chuckle. "Yeah, something like that."

"No, not at all. That does seem like the only right thing to do."

With that, Raven turned around and headed to her room as Robin stood there for a second before he remembered what he was doing and went to tell the Titans. Raven was already dressed and stretched by the time Robin showed up in the gym, clad in only black sweat pants and a white wife-beater. She instantly turned around to put some music on as she could feel her heart swell with lust at the sight of him so dressed down. Before they fought, Robin informed her that the other Titans now knew and would do anything they could to help her in her training and that they weren't going to hide their apparent dislike of her going to defeat her father alone.

Raven frowned at the news but was happy that her friends were at least supportive of her decision. They quickly got into their sparring session, with Raven's music mix blaring in the background, helping her to focus solely on the fight and not the reason behind it. At the end of their session, she had fared pretty well, winning half of their fights and losing the others only by getting distracted once by Beast Boy sprinting by as he was running away from an angry Cyborg, and the other time when Robin whipped his sweat-drenched shirt off in the middle of their battle.

She was never more thankful to look flushed while fighting because it gave her a cover up for her blushes, although she swore she moaned once when Robin had her in a lock, his one arm crossed over her chest and the other twisting her arm behind her and so very near her butt. She played it off easily, though, and they agreed to make it a daily routine to help her train. She really didn't want to have to think about the close proximity she would be having to him every day now as she trudged wearily back up to her room, ready for bed and then another shower.

As she was lying in bed she let her mind wander to the last few days as she started thinking about everything that had happened, including the freedom she could feel coming with her emotions. Which, in turn, made her think about those strange feelings she was getting in the pit of her stomach every time Robin walked into the room. Right before she fell asleep she had concluded she had a crush on her fearless leader and was afraid more of the fact she might be falling deeper for him than the fact that he was her leader, her teammate and she shouldn't be feeling this way for him.

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The next few days went by just the same with training in the morning by herself, then breakfast, meditation, reading, sparring and finally bed, leaving her completely tired and drained every night and every night without any more dreams. The end of the month came fast and Raven found herself getting comfortable with her training and she was even winning the majority of her sparring matches with Robin, not letting her impending feelings get in the way of her mind set. On the last day of the month there was a late night call for the Titans as Mumbo had escaped prison yet again and was on the rampage in town. Robin told Raven to stay and train, that they had it covered and not to worry about it.

Raven agreed in the end and stayed behind to train, her sparring session not lasting very long without a partner and so she decided she earned the night off, taking a shower, getting dressed in her pajamas and heading into the living room to read and wait up for her team. She sat down on the couch with her tea on the table in front of her and tried for a few minutes to get comfortable. She didn't normally wander around the tower in her pajamas, but she made an exception this time since she was so tired and felt as if she would pass out any second.

She finally found a comfortable position by the end of the couch and began reading as she used her powers to pull a blanket over and on top of her. It didn't take long for a sleepy haze to cross her vision as the words in her book started to blur and her eyelids fluttered. She was asleep in mere seconds, but unfortunately tonight her dreams felt the need to resurface and disturb her from her usually peaceful reverie.

_Raven was lounging around in her room, just laying back on her bed as the darkness ensconced her room but the candles lit everywhere gave enough light to see. She was waiting, but for what, she couldn't really remember. She started thinking about what it might be when she heard her door whoosh open and a figure walked in. She squinted to try and see who it was but she couldn't make out any distinctive features yet again, but when he spoke, she knew who it was... it was **him **again._

"_Hello my Love. Sorry I'm late. I got caught up somewhere."_

"_It's all right. You know I would wait for you forever."_

_Raven purred as the figure came closer and was still a shadow to her, no matter how hard she concentrated on what he looked like. He crawled on the bed towards her and began kissing up her legs, earning a very misplaced giggle from her mouth. He moved up to capture her lips quickly and she closed her eyes, drowning in the wonderful sensations he caused inside of her. She settled herself amidst the pillows as he began kissing her neck, sucking hard enough, she was sure, to give her a bruise in the morning. She moaned quietly as his hands moved under her shirt, making him pull away as they lifted it up and over her head. She frowned until his mouth came back down, this time on her right breast and she arched up to meet him more, her hands flying to entangle in his hair._

_He paid much attention to her stomach and chest as she moaned louder and urged him on, her eyes squeezed shut in pleasure. He slowly slid off her shorts and discarded them into the darkness as he kissed a trail down to her thighs, his fingers sliding beneath the hem of her underwear and caressing her curls. She gasped as her underwear seemed to no longer exist as his tongue gently found its way inside of her, causing her to cry out in surprise at the intense pleasure coursing through her._

_She forced herself to open her eyes as his tongue probed her most secretive areas, sending shivers to places she didn't even know existed. She moaned in ecstasy as he added some fingers to the mix, pushing, and poking, pinching and pleasuring to no extent. She was writhing on her bed, oblivious to the world around her, her half-closed eyes rolling around in her head at the new sensations. She looked down as he touched a most sensitive area and she could just make out his other hand resting on her stomach._

_Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the green, fuzzy-looking arm yet again moving back and forth, rubbing her abdomen as wave after wave of delight flew through her, pulsing with a life of their own. She felt herself coming close to a release as suddenly she heard her name being repeated from far away_.

She furrowed her brow as the feelings started to dissipate as well as her surroundings. She felt like a huge part of her was missing as her eyes fluttered open to see Beast Boy's face come into view just above hers, closer than anyone else's before.

"Hey, Earth to Raven! What's going on? Did you fall asleep or something?"

Raven woke herself up fully as he started going off on how she had been muttering in her sleep as she thought back to her dream and who the man seemed to be. She yelped and jumped up, shoving her way past BB and out of the living room. Her mind was all jumbled as her brain starting screaming at her, her emotions going haywire.

_No, not him, not him, not **him**. Not Beast Boy, please not him. Azar said I might be safe, that my soul mate isn't here... it **can't **be him, it just can't! Not when I've just discovered my feelings for Robin, **please no!**_

She fled into the hallway with BB and some of the others hot on her tail, concerned at her reaction. She was too busy trying to figure out what had just happened; her brain kept trying to tell her that every time she had these visions, BB was near her and he was what was causing them. She closed her eyes and shook her head so much that she didn't see Robin until she practically ran into him, colliding with his shoulder. She ignored the blazing pain in her arm as she booked it into her room, slamming her door shut and locking it behind her, sliding down the door as her eyes leaked out tears for the first time in years, landing on her butt on the cold, hard ground.

As soon as the tears started, more images of roaming hands, well-placed kisses, and distorted words of love flooded her mind, making her cry harder at the thought that her love for Robin meant nothing since she obviously wasn't fated to be with him. She held her head in her hands as the images poured into her memory, making her feel sick and disgusted and as if Fate were having fun messing around with her happiness.

She didn't even know when she finally fell asleep against the door, her body curled up in the fetal position on her floor, her tear-stained face resting against her soft carpet. She was only thankful that once she fell asleep the dreams and images stopped, letting her mind and her heart be at peace, even if it was only until she awoke the next morning.

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A/N: Woot! How the Eff was that for an update! Yeah! 18 pages on my WordPerfect. I rock my socks off! I felt the need to do some major updating since I haven't done it in awhile.. I apologize if I kinda die off again for awhile. I gots the Finals coming up in two weeks and I'm freaking out just a bit over here. At least Michigan decided to be somewhat nice and let us have some nice, warm weather... It makes up for the icky winter we had somewhat, doesn't it Xaph? ;-)

Anyhoo, I hope you all enjoyed that and I'm sorry for the vague fighting and training scenes. There is a point, I promise, and it's this: I don't want them in there. Period. This is an angsty/smut-fic. And nothing more. I don't want to jumble it up with fighting and training jargon. I have too much to say without throwing in some nonsense about fighting and training... So, I'm letting you all know ahead of time that Raven's fight with Trigon will prolly only be snippets of flashbacks... and that's a **major **'_Maybe_' right there too...

Well, let me know what you think and hopefully, I can set aside some extra time and do some updating for y'all on my other stories. Hit that little button down there and give your feedback, I love it! L8R Daze...


	3. Chapter Three

Teen Titans: Unexpected Fate

Chapter Three

Disclaimer: UGH! Don't even start with me on this again. They're not mine! I don't own Teen Titans. Never have, never will. Bitches.

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Raven awoke in great pain the next morning, her body aching incredibly from the intense training as well as her odd sleeping position. She frowned and groaned as she sat up, rubbing her neck to try and get the cricks out. She managed to get up in a few minutes and headed to her bathroom, turning on the water and pulling out a fresh towel. She happened to look into the mirror before getting into the shower, groaning even more as she saw her blotchy and swollen face, grimacing as her thoughts from last night hit her.

She bit her lip to keep from crying at the idea that Beast Boy was her soul-mate and that her feelings for Robin meant nothing since they were obviously not meant to be. Even though she really didn't believe in most of this stuff, Raven couldn't help but consider all of the facts pointing to what she dreaded the most. She shook her head, closing her eyes to rid herself of those awful thoughts while she quickly got undressed, turned the water on and got into the shower; hot, salty tears mixing in with the water unknown to herself.

She stayed under the water extremely long today, not entirely ready to face her unwelcome fate the second she stepped out of the sanctuary of her room. She would have stayed there all day if the water hadn't suddenly turned ice cold after about 30 or 40 minutes. She slowly got out and just sat on the cold tile floor of her bathroom, wrapped tightly in her large, fluffy, violet towel. Her brain, as well as her thoughts, was completely numb and she felt like she could stay there, slowly drying, on her floor until the very day she died.

After a few minutes of sitting there, or maybe it was hours, she couldn't really tell, she heard the muffled sound of someone pounding on her door and calling her name. She reluctantly got up and got dressed in her uniform, leaving her hair still wet as she went to answer the door. She hesitated and took a deep breath before she opened her door a crack, peering out into the brightly lit hallway to see who had decided to bother her this morning. Honestly, she just wasn't in the mood to see anyone, especially if it were one of those two boys that had doomed her life.

"Hey there, Dark Girl!"

Raven just stood there, breathing out a sigh of relief at seeing Cyborg, the probably only Titan she could stomach right about now. Not too overly cheery like Starfire, and she wasn't getting all hot and bothered every time _he _walked into the room. Raven nodded quietly, her hood pulled up over her face, hiding the emotions she just couldn't seem to control much lately.

"Cyborg."

"Hey, now, are you okay? I mean, you slept in yet again today and my sensors tell me that you've had the water in the shower going for almost an hour or so. I don't wanna pry or anything, but you kinda freaked us out last night."

Raven just sighed, letting her eyes drop a little bit.

"Everything is just... fine... really. I just got startled. You know how I get when people invade my space like that. I just didn't care for it. I didn't mean to worry anyone."

She winced, hating how awful the lie sounded, and feeling even worse as she saw Cyborg's face relax as he was accepting her lie. He nodded at her explanation and tried to give his best Big Brother smile.

"Okay, girl. I guess that's understandable. But next time... just... try and be a little more open with us, ya know? I know that you aren't exactly the most comfortable with that sorta stuff, but you know that we're here for you if you need us. And we already told Robin that we're not happy with your decision to go about this big battle by yourself, but we do support you in your decision and we can only hope that you enjoy your new found freedom and come back to us in a relatively 'whole' state. I don't have that kinda technology to sew someone back up."

Raven attempted to smile at his encouraging words, fighting the drop in her stomach that came earlier from his mention of the Boy Wonder.

"Thank you, Cyborg. And I promise you that I will try my hardest to come back unscathed. It really is my biggest goal there; it's right up there with beating the hell out of my father."

Cy burst out in his warm, booming laugh, making Raven truly smile. She was just about to make a wry comment as the air around her seemed to change drastically, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. She glanced around frantically to see what was happening when something popped out at her, scaring the living daylights out of her.

"Haha! That's a good one, Raven!"

Beast Boy had popped out from behind Cyborg, where he had apparently been the entire time. Raven gasped as she could suddenly feel the images and emotions stirring up in her, her heart beating wildly as she clutched at her chest. She screamed lightly, her eyes wide, as she couldn't handle it anymore. She quickly phased through the ground, her door shutting in the process, leaving a stunned Cyborg and BB in the hallway.

"Woah, dude... what was that all about? She just, like, totally freaked out on us."

"Yeah I know, man. You think she's stressing herself out way too much with all this training and pressure and whatnot?"

"I don't know, may— "

"Hey guys. What's up?"

Cyborg and Beast Boy turned to see Robin a few feet away from them, heading towards them. He was looking at them oddly as they just sat there, staring at him.

"Um, is there any specific reason you guys are looking at me like that? Or why you're congregating in front of Raven's door?"

"Umm...er... I-I was just checking up on Dark Girl and everything was going great. But then Booger Boy over here— "

"Hey!"

"— Popped out and scared her. Now we don't know where she went."

Robin just frowned, giving Beast Boy a dirty look as he tried knocking on Raven's door and calling her name to see if she was still there. After about five minutes of no one answering, he gave up and began searching for her.

"Listen, why don't you guys just head back and get some lunch or something. I'll try and find Raven and make sure she's okay."

"Alright, Rob... We'll be in the living room if you need us. When you find her, send her there so we can apologize for what happened."

Robin nodded as they walked away, his frown deepening at his thoughts of Raven's strange behavior lately.

_I hope everything is okay with her. I just can't shake the feeling that something else might be going on._

With that last thought, he walked down the hallway, towards the rest of the Tower to look for her and make sure everything was okay.

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Raven phased back through the ground, reappearing on the crop of rocks on the edge of Titan Island. She immediately went into a meditative position and began her therapeutic chant to try and calm her nerves and mind, not wanting to have to deal with the feelings and images this morning. She managed to block out quite a few, but still some slipped through her defenses and she was forced to endure painful visions of her dreaded future. By the end of the mind-numbing tirade, she was physically exhausted and emotionally sick. Her eyes flew open as the images ceased and her breathing was quite labored as a few tears slipped down her cheeks. She just sat there, staring out over the water, her mind now a complete blank as she contemplated everything that had happened lately.

Suddenly, she got up, phasing yet again, this time heading up to her room. Once there, she packed a few essentials, noted the beginning of the new month on her calendar and quickly wrote a note for the other Titans, telling them she was leaving. When she was ready, she quietly slipped out and walked down the hallway, slipping the note underneath Robin's door before shifting into her shadow raven form and flying off in search of her destination. It was time to take her life back from the demon that held it begrudgingly in its filthy claws.

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Robin sat up on the roof, feeling a little lost as he could not find Raven anywhere. He had checked every room of the Tower and still he couldn't find out where she had fled to. With one last look over the bay, he sighed and turned around, heading back inside. As he reached the door, a shadow flew over him and he looked up instantly, trying to find out where the mysterious form had come from. He was crouched low, ready for an attack, but when he couldn't find the shadow anymore, his heart became clenched as his eyes widened and he ran inside, bounding down the stairs as if his life depended on it.

He skidded around the corner of the hallway, running furiously to her door, knocking and somewhat yelling as he called out her name and made sure she was still there. When there was no answer, he opened the security pad next to her room and typed in the override code hurriedly, rushing into her room as soon as the door opened.

"Raven!"

Robin glanced around in a panic for any sign of her, any at all, as he dashed around her room looking for her. He searched every single inch of that room, in the bathroom, in the closet, and even underneath her bed. His breathing sped up rapidly as he ran back to his own room to find his communicator and call her. He entered his room so fast that he didn't even notice the little scrap of paper that stuck to his boot as he rushed over to his night stand, picking up his communicator and calling Raven's. After the fourth time of her not answering, he growled and tossed his communicator across his room, wincing a little as he flopped down on his bed and the small device smashed against the wall.

His eyes felt like they were sewn shut as he simply lay there, his broken communicator in pieces across the room; somewhere in the back of his mind, he heard the far off sound of the other Titans running to his room to find out what they had heard. Soon enough they were all in his room and he couldn't even seem to open his eyes or focus on who was saying what or even what they were saying. Finally, he felt himself being propped up and his eyes slowly opened to see Cyborg staring concernedly down at him, holding his shoulders tightly.

"Rob, man, what's going on? What was all that noise?" he asked, worry evident in his face. "Star said you practically flew past her down the stairs."

"Yes, Friend Robin," Star piped up timidly. "I was almost positive you had somehow acquired the amazing ability to project yourself through the air at fascinating speeds such as myself and Friend Raven."

Robin inwardly winced and let his eyes droop to the floor and closed yet again, the long forgotten feeling of tears building up behind his mask.

"Gone," he croaked out tiredly.

"Gone?" BB asked, frowning. "What's gone?"

"_Her_..." came the quiet reply.

"Her wh— " BB started, before stopping himself.

"Raven," Cyborg figured out, standing up quietly. "Raven's gone."

Starfire looked distressed as she inched forward, resting a hand on Cyborg's metal shoulder. "Gone where, Friend Cyborg?" She asked innocently. "Where could she have ventured during this lateness of the night hours?"

Robin just let his head fall into his hands upon his knees as Cy kept quiet and BB growled in frustration, his hands making tiny fists at his side.

"He means that she left, Star," BB said uncharacteristically angry. "She went to go and battle her father and she didn't even bother to say goodbye or tell us she was going."

They all stood there in a solemn silence as the news sank in, all of them thinking Raven had left without saying goodbye or saying a word because she really did not care for any of them and that she wasn't planning on coming back. Starfire's tears openly fell onto the floor as she stood there, her posture no longer making her look like a feared alien warrior; even Cyborg's bulky metal frame seemed lackluster, making him look smaller and not as menacing. The silence was broken as BB started walking out, everyone flinching as his anger caused him to turn into a gorilla and he punched a hole into the wall outside Robin's door.

Robin's eyes flew open as he heard Beast Boy wheezing outside of his door but he kept his gaze on the floor, trying to summon the courage he knew he needed to keep his team from falling apart so easily. His mind tried to tell him everything would be okay and that they would get through this together, that everything would turn out for the best and that Raven probably had her reasons. His brain was in the middle of comforting him as his gaze swept over the floor yet again, but this time his vision caught on a piece of trash stuck underneath his shoe. He quieted the voice inside of his head as he bent down to retrieve the small piece of paper which, in fact, turned out to be a rather large white envelope with his name scrawled across the front.

As he began to open it, his heart caught in his throat, the other Titans turned around at the noise and even Beast Boy became silent in the hallway. Robin opened the envelope fully and pulled out a small piece of parchment, the scent of lavender and jasmine rising up faintly and fading just as quickly as it came. As soon as he unfolded the note, he recognized the small, cursive writing of the resident Goth. He stopped suddenly, unsure of what exactly was resting in his hands.

"Robin," Cyborg asked, looking intently at him. "What is that?"

"It's from her," he simply replied.

No one said anything but BB slowly walked back into the doorframe, waiting to hear what Robin had to say. A few minutes passed before anyone moved, and before Robin forced himself to focus on the words in front of him. He read the letter to himself, not trusting his own voice as his gaze fell across her last words to the team.

"S-she says she's sorry," he finally choked out, his voice somewhat scratchy from all the emotion. "She's sorry that she couldn't give us a proper reason, but that she just needed to leave right away."

Everyone waited for him to continue as they let the words sink in. Robin took a deep breath and summed up the rest of the note.

"She also said that she loves and cares for us all," he said, his tone cracking. "She hopes we understand her decision and... she says..._goodbye_..."

He let the note fall to the floor as his vision was suddenly swimming with her simple word of '_goodbye_' and he could think of nothing else but that simple action. Cyborg swiftly left the room without a word, letting everyone know where he went as the sound of his door slamming shut reverberated down from the other side of the tower. Star's silent sobs caused her shoulders to heave and so Beast Boy gave one last somber look at their leader before he came over, putting his arm around her and escorting her back to her room across the hall from his.

Robin's brain was numb once more as he thought of the idea that Raven was out there, all alone, fighting for her life, the very life he so desperately wanted to keep safe, and she had not even said a proper goodbye to all of them. The tears fell openly in the vast expanse of his darkened room and his heart burned in a way that he had never experienced, causing him to ponder what it might have meant. But every time he tried to think of Raven and why he would feel that way, he just cried harder as the thought of never seeing her again consumed his mind.

_What if she never comes back?_ His brain screamed. _What if she loses against her father and I never got to say goodbye?_

He somehow, unconsciously, laid back on his bed and buried his face in his pillow, letting his thoughts battle it out.

_No! Raven is strong! She **will **win! _The other half of his brain argued. _She will come back to us. ...** But what if she doesn't? What if something happens and she is gone forever? What if she dies? **NO! She won't, she can't die! I refuse to let her die alone, to spend her last minutes on this earth without anyone there to comfort her and be there for her... **I hate to break it to you, Boy Blunder, but she's probably not even on this earth anymore, not really anyway..**._

He didn't know where his thoughts ended, just that somewhere along the way he drifted off in a nightmare-filled oblivion, his worst fears coming to life as he saw Raven fall, repeatedly, to her death in some hellish looking place... and with himself nowhere to be found, nowhere nearby to help her and keep her alive...

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The sweltering heat and dark shadows danced upon her eyelids as she lay there on the rocky ground, panting desperately to try and catch her breath, as well as her strength. It took all she had just to roll back on her stomach and prop herself up so that the enormous foot that was barreling towards her, did not crush her into tiny pieces.

"I did not," she groaned, growling at the massive beast before her. "Come all this way and not say good-bye to all my friends... just to get stomped out in the first round against a damned guard dog!"

With that statement, she flung her body to a standing position and summoned all of her inner powers and feelings; she let out a mighty roar, accompanied by a powerful surge of black magic to devour the mere guardian before her.

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More than a week passed by without a word from their resident empath and the Titans were getting more worried with every passing second. None of them would admit it, but they all stopped by her door several time every day to see if they could hear of her return. They would never admit to themselves or to anyone else that Raven had failed in her quest and would not return. So they trudged on, depressed but trying not to show it too much, each attempting to act like it was a normal week, a normal day, a normal anything to keep them from thinking about the awful possibilities for their friend's absence.

"Friend Robin," Starfire asked one day, interrupting the daily silence during breakfast. "Why has Friend Raven not attempted to contact our persons to inform us of her triumph?"

"I— I don't know, Star," Robin grunted, poking wearily at his egg-mush.

"Could she, perhaps, have taken a course for the worse and that is why we have heard nothing of her well-being?"

The silence seemed even more death-like as Robin unconsciously gripped his fork tighter and Cyborg's own silverware fell to his plate with an ear-splitting clank. Beast Boy just sat there and stared at the naive alien, his mouth poised halfway to his mouth, his ears not wanting to hear what she had so plainly asked.

"F-friend Robin?" she asked again, shakily. "Is ever— "

"I don't know," he replied quickly, getting up and setting his dish in the sink and walking out of the room, throwing the rest of his answer over his shoulder as the door closed behind him. "I really just don't know anymore, Starfire."

Robin walked blindly down the hall to his room, the whole time trying to get his mind off of the missing Titan and all the possibilities of what could have happened to her. He huffed as he entered his room and flopped right down in his chair, effectively grabbing some fact sheets that he had neglected to fill out from the week's previous crimes to occupy his time and mind. The paperwork was dull and tedious, but he thanked whatever Gods were there for the distraction they provided. He was so wrapped up in the mundane-ness of the task that he thought he imagined the slight noises he could hear coming from down the hall.

But when they continued for a few more minutes, his ears perked up and he set his paperwork aside, curious as to what was making the noise. He got up and looked out his window and saw that the remaining Titans were all outside, playing a game of tag to take up their free time. He frowned and was about to go back to his work and chalk it up to his mind going crazy when he heard it again, this time, he knew he wasn't imagining anything.

His gaze burned a hole into his door as he just stood there, unsure if he should check on it or not. What if it was nothing? Every house has it creaks and bumps, right? It's probably nothing anyway... After a few minutes of internal debate, he managed to move his legs as he walked out into the hallway and started walking in the direction of the noises... towards _her _room. His heart started thumping wildly in his chest as all sorts of ideas and situations rushed to make themselves known in his mind; he reached her door rather quickly and his hand was already knocking on her door before his mind registered actually moving to make himself known.

"R-R-Raven?" he stammered, gulping loudly. "A-are you here? Did you get back already?... Raven?"

His question was only met with silence as he stood there in the barren hallway, looking like a nervous little schoolgirl on her first day of classes. He cleared his throat and took a deep breath as he punched in the override code for her door. It opened with a deafening whoosh and he peered inside, looking hesitantly around.

"Raven?" he half-whispered as he stepped in, his eyes adjusting to the severe darkness inside. "Hello?"

He walked in a little further and surveyed her room carefully, looking for anything out of place; her bed was somewhat of a mess, with the covers tossed everywhere, there were coffee mugs with various teas strewn about on her desk and night stand, and there was even a small pile of something that looked like clothes tossed by the window. He frowned and felt his heart drop considerably as her room had not changed a bit since she left and she was nowhere to be found. He let out a heavy sigh and turned around, exiting her room and slumping back into his own to let his composure slack a little.

"Raven," he sighed, walking into his room, only to walk right back out to train instead. "Where could you possibly be?... I hope you're okay, wherever you are..."

He trudged down the stairs and headed towards the training room to clear his thoughts and, hopefully, to pass away the time until his beloved teammate returned to them in one piece.

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Meanwhile, back in Raven's room...

With the door closed and the room bathed entirely in the dark, a slight, eerie glow was cast across the lonely dresser, illuminating the ornate mirror laying there. The surface seemed to light up and swirl somewhat as it sat there, letting passerbys know that this was no ordinary mirror. And as it rested there, had Robin, or anyone, stayed to see what treasures the room held in shadow, they would have gasped at the wondrous sight of a black vortex forming from the mirror's surface and a pair of violet eyes looking out from the swirling mass of magic...

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Later that night after everyone had gotten their anxiety out of their systems, they all had a quiet dinner, with Robin opting not to tell anyone about his hearing noises earlier in the afternoon. Starfire went straight to her room and, presumably, to sleep right after eating, leaving the three boys to clean up and put away the food. Well, it left Robin to put the food and dishes away while Cyborg and BB had their final match on the day on the GameStation before bed. It wasn't long before the Cy whooped BB's butt in 5 straight games and the two headed off to bed, leaving the fearless leader to finish cleaning up and to turn off the lights before heading to bed himself.

He let out another heavy sigh as he turned the last light off, glancing back in the direction of the large living room window; usually Raven was the last one in bed, and she would always be sitting right there as she would say good night to him without even moving a muscle, enjoying the silence and comfort of her meditation. He shook the memory from his head, frowning and wondering why he had been thinking about her so much lately.

_I'm just worried about her, that's all_, his mind interjected, a now rather common occurrence since her departure. _Nothing more. I'm a concerned friend... Besides, they always say you don't realize what you have until it's gone anyway... Not that I **had **Raven or anything before she left, it just means that I didn't realize how much I counted on her routines to keep me sane and happy._

He shook his head as he made it back to his room, outwardly unhappy with everything his mind was telling him nowadays. Which just made him even more unhappy as he realized he was talking as if his mind was conversing with him on a daily basis, like a real person or something. Now, thinking that he was completely crazy, Robin decided to skip the paperwork again tonight and simply head to bed, seeing that as the only obvious thing to do at the moment. After getting into his pajamas and making sure his room was in order, he slipped into bed and almost immediately fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

A good hour or so after the last Titan was deep in slumber, a lone door silently opened and a frail figure poked their head out and looked to make sure no one was up and about at this hour. Sighing in relief, they shuffled out into the hallway and made their way towards the kitchen, sparing quick and longing glances at the few doors they passed on their late-night journey. Taking good care to be absolutely silent, they reached their destination and, not bothering to turn on any lights, went straight to the cupboards and grabbed a clean mug, as well as a packet of chamomile tea.

Very quietly they also set some water to boil on the stove, encasing it in a protective bubble so it would not make any noise when the water was boiled and ready. In a few minutes, the figure had their tea and made their way silently back down the hallway, but not before carefully putting everything away and cleaning it so the others would not notice. Walking slowly, they went back to their room and quickly shut the door before walking over to the window and sitting down on a few pillows that had been placed there and mistaken by another for clothes earlier in the day.

The moon reappeared outside from behind a set of clouds and the figure simply sat there, drinking their tea and basking in the moonlight.

"I can't wait until I get my strength back," she sighed, letting her eyelids droop down in exhaustion.

Raven simply sat there, allowing her body to try and replenish her energy and heal her wounds. She had been back for almost three whole days now and, as much as she hated hiding from her friends, there simply was no other way to fix herself. She was too badly wounded when she returned and the last thing she needed was her teammates fussing over her and asking all sorts of questions. She felt a twinge of regret at the last thought, but it was necessary if she were to come out of this ordeal in one piece and healthy.

She set her now finished tea to the side and laid back on the pillows, letting the moonlight calm her nerves and helping her to forget the awful battle she had survived with her father. She almost felt like smiling and giggling— she had defeated her biggest enemy and regained control of her life. For the first time ever, she was free and she was so happy about that, that she cried the entire first night she had been back at the tower. It didn't help, of course, that she also realized she was now free to love Robin and yet, she was not destined to be with him, but with another for whom she had no feelings for whatsoever. That had only added to her tears, causing the exhilaration of being able to express her feelings and cry and turning it into something horrible that she had come to loathe lately.

After an hour or so, Raven got up and hobbled back to her bed, fixing the blankets so that they covered her and did not look so scattered about as she fell into a deep sleep, which was unfortunately plagued by the haunting visions of the man who made her feel more than she ever thought possible. This freedom of expression situation was going to wear thin on her patience, as well as her mind if horrible things like that kept happening.

If only I could stop the dreams and images from coming, she thought wearily as she drifted off, letting her body attempt another healing session on itself. If only I could change my own fate...

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A/N: Well whaddya know? I actually finished something. Well, a chapter anyway... but it's better than nothing. Oh well, I hope it doesn't suck as much as I think it does. So hit that little button down there and let me know how the suckage rates... Maybe I can get a little more focused too and finish the other chapter to my other story... haha... oh that's a good one. I crack myself up! Oh boy... L8R Daze... 


	4. Chapter Four

Teen Titans: Unexpected Fate

Chapter Four

Disclaimer: Not mine. Never were, Never will be. Happy?

A/N: Holy Shit! I did it! I'm back! I wrote another chapter! And guess what???? NOTHING happens in it! LOL….. Go me, huh? Let me know how it goes fer ya!

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Four more days passed with the Titans growing more and more despondent at Raven's hasty, and enduring, departure. Cyborg had taken to staying in his room most of the time to work on his gadgets, occasionally taking some time out to play video games with Beast Boy to relax and try to forget the missing Titan. He never touched the T-Car, feeling as though he needed to leave the work, and the bonding, for himself and his Dark Girl. He was ready to install the new music system and the specially designed engine he created himself, but he knew how much Raven secretly loved to get dirty and grimy and greasy while working under the hood of the car.

Beast Boy took a different approach and did everything he could to keep busy, and he never liked being by himself. He was always playing video games, going to the arcade, cruising around the mall, trying to invent new games to get the other Titans to play with him, anything. He figured if he kept busy enough then he wouldn't have to think about the empty seat at the dinner table, the open spot in the passenger seat of the T-Car on missions, or the tea kettle nestled softly off to the side of the oven, not its normal resting spot.

Starfire seemed to simply float throughout the tower, her purple boots dragging along the floors, giving her a sort of sluggish feel. She was constantly making different puddings every chance she got. There was a Pudding of Remorse, Guilt, Remembrance, Sadness, Absence, Help, Guidance, and many others. Most of them even Starfire didn't know their names; she just made them to reflect how she felt. In battle, her star bolts seemed to glow a little less than usual and once or twice, one of the boys had to run to catch her because her thoughts and emotions disabled her joy and her ability to remain in flight.

But it was Robin who took her disappearance the hardest out of all of them. He barely came out of his room, except for missions. On the rare occasions that he did come out, the others did not know he was doing it and so they thought he had converted into a hermit of sorts. But he did come out, unbeknownst to them, and he walked around the tower, but it was only to look for her. He would come out of his room and stroll up to the rooftop, pausing only for a moment at Raven's door to press his ear against it and listen, before continuing on his nightly obsession. After he had checked the rooftop, then he would walk slowly back down to the kitchen, touch her tea kettle, her coffee mugs, anything to see if they felt warm, anything to let him know that she was back. He counted all of her cups and he made mental pictures of where they were, in case anyone touched anything.

He wanted to make sure everything was where it was supposed to be when she decided to come home, _if_ she came home. He hated even thinking like that, but it was a reality that they had to, unfortunately, consider. He even kept the pillows on the ground by the window in the living room so she would have somewhere to safely mediate or sit and read when she came home. After his daily checkups, he would then lay awake in bed for hours on end, hoping to hear the telltale signs of a Raven coming back to nest.

Every sound he heard, he would jump up and go check it out. Sometimes he thought he was on to something and that Raven really was home, but unfortunately nothing ever checked out. During battles, he was even worse; somehow he would imagine Raven was fighting and he would often look back and his eyes would dart around looking for her, making sure she was okay. When this happened, most criminals took their chances and needless to say, he had come home with many concussions because he was unable to stay focused.

The inhabitants in the tower seemed to be a major mess without their resident empath and Raven's heart broke a little more each and every day she had to watch them and feel their emotions choking her in the atmosphere. She couldn't even risk making tea the way Robin was cataloging everything that every moved. Every night she had to sneak out to the city to get something to eat with a hot mug of tea. And every night she had to use all of her strength to keep from Robin spotting her. She hated hiding from her friends, but she couldn't let them see her weak and vulnerable. They had to see her come back in all of her glory; strong, proud, and victorious over her father. If she came back anything but that, then they would hover over her and fuss about every little thing. She had to be strong. For them, not for her, but for their sakes.

Raven was surprised herself at how long recuperation was taking her, but she silently berated herself because it was her own fault she was still playing hide and seek from her house mates. She had decided a few days ago to go and visit Azar quickly and let her know that the horror known as her father had been defeated. That trip alone had taken up the majority of the strength she had been regaining and she was angry at herself for jumping the gun on that one. The visit had been fruitful, but now her friends were paying for it even more because Raven had to keep hiding from them. With every battle that ensued, Raven would pull out her telescope and watch them, making sure they stayed alive and out of harm's way. She flinched and felt it in her bones whenever one of them bounded across the pavement like a rag doll.

_Only a few more days_, she thought to herself one night as Robin was off making his rounds. She could hear his footsteps going upstairs to the roof, listening carefully as he walked over to her usual spot and then stayed there for a moment, staring off across the horizon. She stayed perfectly still on her bed, sitting Indian style in her blue silk pajamas, and clutching a pillow to her chest. She waited with bated breath as she pictured Robin moving again across the roof and back downstairs. Now he was quietly going into the kitchen, touching her tea kettle, trying to detect the smallest amount of heat, opening the cabinet doors, looking for a mug out of place, counting all of her tea bags to make sure there weren't any missing. She could practically feel the sigh that emanated from him as he regrettably turned back and walked towards the bedrooms once again. His melancholy hovered around her in the air, weighing down on her soul, as he made his final trip of the night back to her door.

Raven held her breath without realizing it as she saw his shadow beneath her door, staring at the floor and imagining what he must look like on the other side of that blasted barrier. Only tonight, something different happened; Robin didn't just sit there and listen before going back to his room. This time, he spoke, it wasn't above a whisper, but Raven heard it as if he had shouted it right in her face.

"I miss you Raven," the voice begged. "Please come home. I need you. More than you'll ever know. Just…. Please…… be okay and come home. Please……………"

Raven's heart jumped up into her throat and she felt a burning sting at the corner of her eyes as the tears welled up and began to silently slip down her porcelain cheeks. She opened her mouth to speak, to tell Robin that she missed him too, that she was home, and that she was okay, anything! Her mouth moved, but nothing came out and yet again, Robin sighed and left her door, shuffling back to his room in a defeated manner. She could hear him as he got ready for bed and it seemed like hours had passed before her mind reached out and felt his unconscious one. It was then and only then that she let herself unravel and lose the little bit of control she had been desperately trying to keep hidden.

She welled up whatever courage she had and magicked herself away onto a set of rocks far away from the tower. It was there that she finally let herself go since she had been home. She cried as her chest heaved like the water around her, not even caring that she was getting soaked by the frigid waves around her. She didn't really know what it was, but something in what Robin said had gotten to her and she couldn't handle it any longer. She cried for what seemed like hours, adding more salt into the water surrounding her home before she was finally able to manage getting back to her room, but not before she quickly wandered into town to get something to eat. _Soon_, she thought to herself. _I am going to do whatever I can to make sure I am back among my friends by the end of the week. I cannot keep this up any longer. I need them. I need my family._

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Two more days passed by without any signs from Raven and it was getting to the point where the Titans couldn't function properly during missions and often had to call the Jump City Police to cover for them. The commissioner knew what their ordeal was and carried it out without any problem, knowing that a team will fail sooner or later when they are incomplete. The Titans mostly stayed at home and moped around the house, but for reasons they couldn't explain, they decided to stay together and even Robin came out of his room.

He still couldn't shake the weird dream he had a few nights ago; he dreamt that he looked out of his window and saw a beautiful goddess crying in the middle of the water. Her skin seemed to glow with the moonlight and Robin thought for a moment she might have been a mermaid or a ghost maybe of some sort. He kept an open mind to pretty much anything these days, but he chalked that experience up to not enough sleep. Still, he couldn't shake how beautiful the woman had looked while in despair and he wanted desperately to reach out and touch her, take her worries away and holster them himself.

He shook his head to clear his thoughts and focused on the racing game Cyborg and Beast Boy were adamantly playing, with Starfire cheering both boys on next to them.

"Congratulations Friend Beast Boy!" She cheered, giggling and waving her arms about. "Oh, and congratulations to you too, Friend Cyborg. Even though Friend Beast Boy won that race, your maneuvers were very wonderful to watch and I surely thought you had the, how do you say it, higher limb on that one?!"

Robin chuckled as Cy and BB just looked at each other, forgetting who had won for a moment.

"You can't cheer for both of us, Star," BB said, put off that his winning wasn't the only thing being complimented. "You have to pick a side or only cheer for the winner. That's just how it works."

"Well I think it's very nice and encouraging," Cy said slyly, grinning ear to ear. "I think Starfire should be able to cheer for anyone she wants to."

"Oh, Thank you, Friend Cyborg," Starfire beamed. "I am glad you appreciate my ability to keep a positive outlook on the games of video."

"It's not that I don't appreciate it, Star," BB replied, clearly agitated. "But it's just confusing if you cheer for both of us. I think every player needs only one cheerer and I think you should just agree to cheer for the winner… which is going to be me!"

Cyborg laughed at Star's confused look and was enjoying annoying Beast Boy immensely. "Oh is that what you think, Oscar the Grouchy Loser? If you're going to cheer for a winner, Starfire, then it's going to be me!"

"Oh yeah? Be prepared to eat rubber, Can Opener!" BB screeched, getting into his playing position.

"But, why can I not cheer and encourage both players?" Star asked innocently. "You are both my friends and you both are winners."

"It's a little uncool," BB answered. "But you can just cheer for me, Star, 'cuz I'm totally going Prehistoric on his electronic butt!"

Robin merely smiled reassuringly at Starfire, ignoring the quiet buzz in the air as his hair stood up on the back of his neck. "It's okay, Starfire," he coaxed. "You can cheer for whoever you would like."

"_Whomever_," came a small, but powerful voice from the back of the room.

The entire room and its inhabitants seemed to be frozen in time, both cars on the screen crashed into walls of some sort and it became deadly quiet. Everyone turned very slowly around to look behind them, their eyes growing wide at the sight that greeted them.

"W-what?" Cyborg managed to squeak out, after what seemed like a millennium.

"I said, whomever," the voice came again, hidden in the shadows of the hallway. "As in, Starfire can cheer for _whomever_ she would like. I believe that is the correct grammar."

"Oh," Starfire breathed out, sounding more like a dying squeaky toy than the powerful Tamaranian Princess warrior she was.

"W-w-w-w-w-who's there?" Beast Boy asked quietly, dreading a wrong answer.

A sweet and simple chuckle emerged from the darkness, followed by a young woman barely over 5 feet tall dressed in a slightly damaged leotard, a broken gold and red belt dangling at her waist, scuffed blue boots, and a torn blue cape filled with holes, her hood pulled up and covering her face. When she was completely out of the darkness, she pulled her hood back, revealing violet locks that cascaded down to her waist, glowing gray skin, a petite pink mouth set in a mischievous smirk, and deep purple orbs full of more love than anyone had ever seen before.

"R-raven?" Cyborg asked finally, starting to stand up. "Is that really you? Or was that Chinese food left over in the fridge really old?"

Raven laughed again, her voice bubbling out into the silence, filling her friends with a warmth they had so deeply missed. "Yes, Cy. It really is me. But I don't doubt that the Chinese food in the fridge isn't spoiled either."

At that, the room seemed to be reenergized with life and laughter as Starfire flew to her feet and practically beat the speed of light flying over to Raven to hug her. Beast Boy and Cyborg pushed each other out of the way to try and get to her first. All three of them were hugging her and welcoming her back, asking her what had happened, was she alright, and how did she know the Chinese food in the fridge was bad. Raven looked up and saw Robin was still in the same spot he had been, only he had stood to his feet, never saying a word. Raven excused herself from her friends and walked over to him, stopping right in front of him, neither one saying anything.

Finally, Raven moved and threw her arms around him, burying her face in his neck. "I missed you too," she whispered. "But I'm okay and I'm home now. And I'm not going anywhere for a long time." She paused, before gripping him tighter. "I needed you too, so much, more than you'll ever know."

At those words, Robin's eyes grew and his arms snaked around her small waist, fighting the tears hiding behind his mask. He didn't need to say anything and he honestly didn't think he could. All he could do was hold her, and hug her, and find comfort in the fact that Raven was home again. She was okay and she was home. And she needed him, but he did know how much; he had felt it all this time, so much and more.

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With Raven back home, the Titans couldn't seem to contain their energy and their happiness anymore as they paraded around her, asking her questions, being as polite as they could, waiting on her hand and foot, and even, occasionally, just randomly throwing hugs her way, just because they could. Raven had a hard time keeping the smile off of her face, but deep down inside she knew that this was all just a ploy for her friends' sake.

She had even dug up her outfit from the fight to make it look genuine; she hated lying to her friends, and someday she might tell them the truth, but not now, not when they were just so happy to have her back. Even Beast Boy wasn't as annoying as he usually was. The day seemed to be flying by as dinner rolled around and they decided to go all out for Raven's Return, a new holiday that they decided to put on the tower calendars.

Raven tried to downplay everything, feeling even guiltier for hiding from them by the second, but they just wouldn't let her shy away from their vigor. She told them that she really needed to meditate if they were going to keep this pace up, so they shoved her up onto the roof as they planned their big shindig downstairs. Up on the roof, Raven breathed in the air for the first time since she had been back and truly felt at peace. She walked over to the edge to look out at the twinkling city lights, a soft smile gracing her features at the serene embrace being home brought her. After a few moments, she moved away from the ledge and sat down on the ground, crossing her legs and getting into her meditative pose. There was a slight breeze out tonight and so she was grateful that her friends at least let her change into a new uniform that wasn't so ratty.

She closed her eyes and began to meditate, the world around her rushing away to be replaced by her soothing mantra and the calm, quiet order that her home gave her. She thought about nothing but being happy and she felt herself rise into the air, the breeze whipping her hair lightly about her face. She felt so much more relaxed now that she was among her friends, no, her _family_, and her meditation felt extremely wonderful on her mind. Every so often she could hear some noises coming from downstairs and a small chuckle would escape her throat at her friends' antics.

As she was meditating, though, something started to happen and Raven started to see visions in her tranquility, something she never really experienced. She tried to fight them, but the air seemed to change, getting more violent as it buzzed with electricity all around her. She could feel herself slipping in the air, but she was powerless to stop the visions from hitting her full-force. It was like all of the strength she had put into keeping herself hidden and in-charge suddenly turned inward and she was losing everything she had worked so hard to maintain. She bit her lip as her vision swam with images of the young man from her previous dreams, flying all over her mind before they suddenly stopped and brought themselves to a collected revelation.

"Hi," the young man garbled, keeping in line with his usual appearance. "I've missed you so much. I wish you wouldn't hide from me."

"No," Raven whispered back, standing up on the roof to meet his gaze. "I wasn't hiding from you. I was just, well………… I was just keeping to myself for a little while."

"You can't deny what you feel, Raven," the figure said lovingly, moving towards her. "You can't deny what's happening here. You can't just push this all away and hope things work out differently. You can't deny me."

She shook her head, rooted to the spot she had been previously meditating in. "I don't want to deny anything. I just don't know what's going on. Why can't I see you? Why can't I know who you are?"

The man chuckled and goose bumps surged across her skin. "You can't see me because you don't want to; you're hiding me from yourself. And, you already know who I am; you just don't want to admit it. You need to let go Raven and just accept what your heart and your mind are telling you."

"But what my heart and my head are telling me are two different things," Raven argued, shivering as the man was only a few inches away from her. "I know what I feel and about who, but I don't think you're reflecting those emotions. You aren't what I'm feeling. So why do you keep torturing me?"

The man reached out to her, his blurry image running a green arm down her own. "I am what you want, what you need, Raven. I wish you would just let your heart open your eyes and see me for what I truly am. The man who loves you, who you're destined to be with. Forever."

Tears spilled out over her face and Raven didn't know what to do anymore as she gave in and let the man get to her. She didn't want to love Beast Boy, and she didn't know how this man in her dreams could tell her _she_ was the crazy one. She knew what she was seeing and she knew that what she was feeling wasn't for him. But something overpowered her and she bent upwards as his mouth came crashing down onto hers.

The kiss was chaste, and yet hungry at the same time, a tiny explosion of feeling that tingled Raven's lips. His arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into him more as she opened her mouth for him, wanting to taste his words of love. Raven knew that she loved this man and that she was destined to be with him, that much she could tell. Obviously her mind and her heart were sending mixed signals as more tears tumbled from her closed eyelids, her heart ripping apart at the fact that she would never be with the one she thought she loved. If this felt so right, then it must be real.

The kiss deepened as their tongues danced around, darting from one mouth to the other; Raven moaned quietly into the kiss, feeling his obvious attraction and want for her pressed against her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him into her, wanting to feel more of his love. It felt like an eternity since their lips first touched and Raven was beginning to feel a little woozy.

All of a sudden, her mind seemed to set in as to what was going on and she started to freak out. Her eyes flew open, seeing nothing but a distorted image in front of her and she panicked. Her mind pushed against him, mirroring her arms as she tried to get away from him, wanting nothing more than to be back home with her friends, not trapped in this depression of a dream. With one final shove, she was set free and her eyes flew open to find she was sweating profusely, faltering in her floating above the tower roof. She grabbed at her chest, feeling her heart pounding against its ribbed cage. She closed her eyes to calm herself and regain her composure. She succeeded in slowing her heart rate momentarily and steadying her body in the air.

She opened her eyes slowly and was puzzled by the sight before her. There was a small bird sitting on the ledge of the roof, just staring at her. Her brow furrowed as she stared at the bird, its tiny head cocked to the side, just watching her. Suddenly, the bird moved, growing bigger and bigger, until she realized that it was morphing before her very eyes. Her body went rigid as the tiny bird turned into the very person she was dreading to see. Beast Boy dropped out of the air, a worried grin on his face.

"Hey Raven," he said, cautiously. "Are you okay? We just came to check on you and let you know that everything is almost ready. All you need to do is change into some street clothes; we're all going normal tonight!"

Beast Boy just stood there, smiling, waiting for a response, making sure he wasn't bothering her. But Raven just couldn't take it anymore; she lost her concentration and fell to the ground, bruising her tailbone in the process. She freaked out; her eyes cast in a wild look, as she scrambled to her feet and ran as fast as she could. She barely saw Robin behind her, a worried look on his face as she ran past him, accidentally knocking him over. Raven could think of nothing but the sanctuary in her room, her life depending on reaching there before anything else could get tossed her way.

Back on the roof, Robin sat sprawled on the ground, simply staring after Raven, wondering what was going on. Beast Boy slowly walked over to him and held out his arm to help him up.

"Man what was what all about?" Beast Boy asked, scratching his head in puzzlement. "It seems like every time I come around her, she's freaking out and running away."

Robin ignored the easy remark and instead shook his head. "I have no idea, Beast Boy. We just have to remember to take it easy on her for awhile. She's been through a lot and her mind is probably really fragile right now. Just, try not to sneak up on her or anything. She's had enough surprises and everything to last her quite awhile."

Beast Boy just nodded and the two of them walked back downstairs, going to find the other Titans. They told them all what happened and that they should take it easy on her. They already had the party planned and started and they couldn't really cancel it, so they just opted to give Raven a little more time to herself. Cyborg nominated Starfire to go and talk to her, despite Robin's own volunteering, saying that Raven might be comfortable talking to another girl, than anyone else in the tower. Besides, Starfire was the only one she hadn't really freaked out on yet, so it just seemed to be right that she was the one to go check up on Raven.

Starfire agreed and decided to go and change before she went and talked to Raven, giving her friend more than enough time to hopefully calm down. Starfire changed into a short pink mini-skirt, pink sandals, and a shimmery, silver halter top. She glanced at her barrettes on her nightstand and decided she would put her hair up in a ponytail tonight, feeling a little adventurous since she was so elated to have her bestest friend back. Once she was ready, she floated out of her room and down the hall towards Raven's room, noticing that the other Titans were already changed and finishing some last minute details. She took a deep breath and landed on the ground outside Raven's door.

"Friend Raven?" she asked quietly, knocking on the metallic door. "It is your friend, Starfire. I have come to do the talking of the girls and to see if you are all right."

She waited quite awhile before the door whooshed open, the fading black magic sparking back to its owner like runaway lightning. Starfire slowly walked into Raven's room, only having been there once before by actual invite. Raven was sitting on the ledge next to her window, just looking out at the water, a serene, but somewhat unhappy, expression on her face.

Before she could say anything, Raven herself spoke up, seeming far away herself. "I'm okay Starfire. Thank you for checking up on me. I'm just—just a little, er, twitchy I guess."

"If you say so," Starfire agreed, moving to sit down on her friend's bed as she surveyed a few broken objects strewn across the floor in the fading light. The door behind her closed and it took all of her courage not to 'eep' as it got dark momentarily.

"Sorry about that," Raven mumbled, as a few candles around her room lit up, making it seem a little livelier. "I guess I'm just used to the dark by now."

"Oh no, I am okay," Starfire said quietly. "I was just not expecting it." She faltered for a moment before moving on. "Are you sure you are okay, Friend Raven? You have been gone so long, but still, something seems different about you. You are not as……… _free_…… as I would have expected you to be."

Raven winced at that and turned, offering an apologetic smile. "Sorry Star. I've just got a lot on my mind and I guess it's weighing down on my newfound freedom."

"If you do not mind my asking," Starfire inquired, looking hopeful. "May you tell me what you are thinking about? Maybe I could be of assistance in helping you to obtain a new life?"

Raven smiled at her friend and shook her head a little. "I don't think so Starfire, but thank you for the offer. I appreciate it."

Starfire looked momentarily hurt, but quickly forced her trademark smile to show through. "You know, Friend Raven, I may not know all about the customs of Earth just yet, but I do know quite a bit about being a girl, they are the same no matter where they come from. It is complicated and I do not think that anyone out there truly has all the answers, but I do know that sometimes all that it takes is to share your burden with someone else to feel better. You taught me that."

Raven was stunned into a fleeting silence at the depth and frankness she had never known her friend possessed. Was she really that transparent? If Starfire, of all people, er, aliens, could see it, then who else wasn't she fooling? It felt like ages before she spoke, but when she did, she chose her words very carefully.

"I did, didn't I?" Raven finally said, moving to sit down next to her on her bed. "Well, I guess I can't pretend to know all the answers either, but I know I can't be a hypocrite. It's just—it's a long story, Starfire and even _I_ don't know how it's going to end. This whole 'girl/emotions' thing has just got me all in a tizzy."

Starfire merely smiled and nodded. "Well, if you would like, I am very familiar with the girl-slash-emotions thing…… We have decided tonight to make it casual, as I am certain you could tell by my appearance, so if it pleases you, maybe whilst you change, you could tell me what is troubling you. If nothing else, I will at least be able to listen."

Raven stood up and headed towards her closet. "I think that would be just fine, Starfire."

Starfire let out a bubbly giggle and jumped up into the air. "Oh this is wonderful, Friend Raven!" she squealed, landing back on the ground. "Now, let me help you find something magnificent and beautiful to wear tonight and you can tell me everything that has been on your mind!"

Raven let out an uncharacteristic giggle too and led Starfire to her closet. "I don't even know where to begin!"

"Well," Starfire said, gazing past Raven's uniforms and trying to see what else she had hidden away in there. "Do not most Earth stories start from the beginning?"

"Yeah, I suppose they do," Raven replied, using her magic to pull everything out of her closet that wasn't a uniform and laying it on her bed. "You see, it all started a few days before I left to go fight my father; you know, the day where it seemed like everyone was out to get us……………"

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A/N: Well, how was that? After not updating in forever, I guess it's kind of a slow chapter, but if I kept going, then this one would be, like, forever long. It's already 11 pages on my Word, ya hear! Anyhoo, next up is the par-tay for Raven and all that entails. More fun ahead. I would have to say, though, that this story is nearing its end, as it's on the short side a little. Only 2 or 3 more chapters I think, so hopefully, it won't take me as long to finish the rest.

Leave some love down there with the little button and go check out the newest one-shot I wrote a little bit ago. It's called "Somebody's Me" and I haven't received very much on that one, so let me know how bad it was… This one too.

L8r Daze!

SCP


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